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A recent study conducted by Expedia shows that people are relying more than ever on mobile technology for researching and booking travel. A few interesting findings from the study:

More than 65% of people who book a hotel room within 24 hours prior to checking in do so from a mobile device

More than 18% of travellers who book a flight 24 hours or less in advance do so via mobile

Hotels with ratings between two and three stars are most commonly reserved via mobile devices, indicating that they’re likely the best (or most available) last-minute lodging option

Tourism Toronto’s own mobile app, launched late last year, has now surpassed 50,000 downloads. The new Explore Toronto feature on iOS was launched at the start of the summer and has been very well received and suggests things for visitors to see and do around Toronto, Mississauga and Brampton. “Explore Toronto” is free to download on your smartphone.

Summer campaign sizzled
Tourism Toronto wrapped up the summer marketing campaign on Labour Day weekend. Targeting Ontario, upstate New York and Montreal, "Summer Escapes" encouraged potential visitors to break out of their regular routine and enjoy a weekend of restaurants, shopping, events and attractions in Toronto. Packages and trip ideas tailored to couples, families, girlfriends and guys getaways were featured at SeeTorontoNow.com/escape. The campaign included radio ads, contests and extensive online promotions as well as 3D chalk installations in Ottawa, Kingston, Sudbury, London, Buffalo and Montreal throughout June. The campaign generated 317,000 visits to SeeTorontoNow.com/escape and 36,581 visits to the online booking engine (leads). Over 4,300 room nights and 6,400 attraction and theatre tickets were sold through TT’s Sales Centre during this period.

U.K. wakes up to Toronto
TT’s Media Relations team has recently hosted multiple high-profile U.K. media outlets, including Daybreak for three nights during the Toronto International Film Festival. Daybreak is the largest weekday breakfast television program in the U.K. with an audience reach close to 2 million. The show highlighted Hollywood stars and Toronto in multiple segments of the program.

The Guardian had a quick visit during last year’s Polaris Prize event and the journalist was impressed with Toronto’s robust live music scene as she writes in "Toronto rocks: Canada's music capital."

Britain and Ireland’s Next Top Model shot here earlier this year and the Toronto episodes have started to air in the UK on Mondays at 9 p.m. on the Skyliving network. We’ll share full episodes in the near future, but in the meantime you can enjoy the drama in this preview that includes the girls’ visit to CN Tower’s Edgewalk.

Her Madjesty holds court for clients
On September 20 and 24, TT’s Sales reps were joined for Madonna concerts in Chicago and Washington, D.C. by a group of members and high-value U.S. association clients. These intimate events enable both Tourism Toronto and our members to develop and strengthen client relationships and to advance business development conversations to the next level.

Media flock for TIFF
Toronto was at the top of entertainment newscasts around the world for the 10 days of TIFF and TT’s Media Relations team leveraged the event for multiple press groups. Media from many of our target markets including the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Germany, U.K., and France were here for the excitement. Coverage came from influential publications such as Harper’s Bazaar, Huffington Post, Glamour.com and Rolling Stone (Mexico).

China National Travel
In August, China National Travel magazine featured Toronto in a four-page article “The Multiple Facets of Toronto” that included Canada Day events, Niagara Falls, the CN Tower and the writer’s touching personal experience at Toronto’s Pride Parade.

Argentina feature
Toronto was the subject of eight pages and the cover of BA MAG’s September 2012 issue. BA MAG is a premium publication delivered door to door in the exclusive Northern area of Buenos Aires province that features art, lifestyle, and travel.

MSN bikes its way around Toronto
An adventure by bike in the Weekend Escapes section of MSN.ca, which took the reader through city neighbourhoods like Chinatown and the Distillery District, was the focus of "Biking your way through Toronto." MSN.ca has approximately 4 million daily visitors.

ASAE Summit Awards Dinner
On October 3, Team Toronto will host a table of U.S. Association clients at the annual ASAE Summit Awards Dinner at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. This annual event recognizes the important work associations perform around the world and is an opportunity for Toronto to show support for our association colleagues and clients.

Upcoming Meetings & Conventions (300+ Delegates)

Dates

Meeting/Group Name

Attendees

CENTRAL

Sep 26-29

Cambridge House International Inc.

300

Sep 30-Oct 3

Investors Group

300

Sep 30-Oct 5

Canadian Tourism Human Resources Council

350

Oct 1-3

GuestLogix

500

Oct 12-21

Licensing Executives Society

1,200

Oct 14-17

Canadian Wind Energy Association

3,000

Oct 14-18

Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Number

1,000

Oct 25-Nov 1

Canadian Cardiovascular Society

3,750

WEST

Oct 1-9

Ontario Soccer Association

500

World Tourism Day at the Ted Rogers School of Management is on September 27 from 5:30 to 8:30. This year’s speaker, Michelle Mackenzie from the Canadian Tourism Commission, will talk about tourism development and trends in Canada.

October 15 is the date for the Shop the World Tourism Conference, an educational and networking program designed for shopping centre professionals, tourism professionals and retailers who want to learn about working together to capitalize on attracting visitors to their business.

Masaki Suzuki has been working in tourism and hospitality for over 14 years and will be bringing his experience and enthusiasm for the industry to his new role at Tourism Toronto as Manager, Japanese & Korean Market Development as the organization continues to build business from the important Japanese and Korean markets. Contact: msuzuki@torcvb.com or 416-203-2600 ext. 867

Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) recently announced its 2013 Professional Achievement honourees, and Gino Giancola, former Senior Vice President Sales and Industry Relations for Tourism Toronto, is among them. The awards will be presented at the PCMA Education Foundation Dinner on May 15, 2013 in Washington D.C. Gino retired from Tourism Toronto in 2007 and is receiving the Supplier Honoree for his many contributions over the years. Congratulations Gino!

"The Ryerson Image Centre is the perfect venue [for the Black Star Collection], because it provides not only for the exhibition of the material, but for a strong educational use as well. It completes two of my dreams: that the collection be kept together and that it be housed in an institution that has an affinity for photojournalism."

They all knew that the film that opened the first Toronto film festival in 1976 was Cousin, Cousine.

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Tourism Toronto is an industry association of more than 1,200 members established to sell and
market the greater Toronto region as a remarkable destination for tourists, convention delegates and business travellers around
the globe. Tourism Toronto operates in partnership with the Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Culture as Regional Tourism
Organization 5. For more information please visit www.SeeTorontoNow.com